2014 Zero Battery Chemistry (Z-Force® Power Tank Secret Sauce)

Wondering what Magic Chemistry Zero’s running in the new line and the Z-Force® Power Tank? So was I. Here’s the dish. They’re Farasis NMC (nickel maganese cobalt, with a pure graphite anode) cells. 102 volts, 2.8 kwh, 28 in series for a total of 11.4 kWh without the addition of the Power Tank. From the owners manual, it looks like it weighs around 52lbs for one of the two “power packs”. That gives you a pretty awesome 120 kw/kg, by my math. (Correction – the “power pack” modules weigh 41.8lbs, as per Harlan Flagg at Hollywood Electrics. They are 2.8kWh. This calculates out to 149 kw/kg.)

Interestingly, the same cells they were using last year, but because the pack is so large, it’s providing significantly more amps – the old “higher peak amps from a lower c-rate” equation. “They can really take the 660 amp controller to the max without voltage sag…”

Looking at the 2015 FX specs online (http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-fx/specs.php), I see the Z-Force 75-5 motor is rated 20 kW on the Zero FX ZF2.8 model (with one 2.8 kWh Power Pack), whereas the same Z-Force 75-5 motor is rated 33 kW peak power on the Zero FX ZF5.7 model (with two 2.8 kWh Power Packs). So now we know where those power ratings come from. The Z-Force 75-5 motor has 33 kW peak power, but the Zero FX controller limits power from a single Power Pack to 20 kW (really it limits current to 175? A), hence the lowered power rating on the Zero FX ZF2.8 model motorcycle.